Rehoming our dogs

ladymarmalade1970

There are are many dog forums where you can get practical advice for free. I have 3 dogs, 2 rescue and 1 from puppy. When we got the last one - an over bred staffie, she nearly ripped the other dogs faces off! OK, a slight exaggeration but she was bad and my OH said she had to go back.

We muzzled her and developed a plan whereby as soon as we saw her lips curl we would pick her up, put her behind the stair gate and praise the other 2 lots.

It took about 3 days of this consistent behaviour for her to realise that we weren't having it and we could safely remove her muzzle. It took about another 2 weeks for them to be ok with her then within 2 months i could safely leave them all home alone together.

She still has issues with other dogs (apart from her brothers who she dearly loves now she trusts them) and we have a behaviourist coming round next week for one final stab to see if we can sort it.

She is only small being a pedigree staff so she is manageable but I imagine yours are a lot bigger.

Can you muzzle the pair of them, watch them closely when they eat and then as soon as one starts, remove them for 5 mins and make a fuss of the other one?

You have to be confident about this and make it clear that it's unacceptable and you won't tolerate it.

I did have to take a week off work but she was well worth it and now we have a lovely family dog who, although still has DA issue, fits into our family perfectly.

We have had our staffie girl 2 and a half years now and she lives happily with her brothers - a rottie and a staffy X and they have NEVER had a fight.

Consistency is the key. That's how they learn.

Beetlemama

catkins wrote: »

Well sorry but I think your husband is talking absolute rubbish. Ok you may get a dog who bites you or a child and then, yes of course, the best thing to do is to rehome but otherwise then I believe pets ARE for life. Anyone who does not think that should not get any pet. Sound like your husband got animals and then, for whatever reason, had a change of mind and got rid of them. His remark is obviously his excuse for doing so


You are also being incredibly naïve if you think "they'll have a chance to find a home where they're happy too". Do you know how many dogs are in rescues in this country? Do you know how many are pts EVERY DAY because they are not enough homes? Also these dogs are 8 and 9 so even harder to rehome.



It may well be that the OP may end up having to rehome one of the dogs BUT there are hopefully some options before she has to go down that route and most people on here will try and help her with those.

He bought all the dogs due to be executed at the local shelter each month and found new homes for the ones who could not fit in with his existing pack.

Dogs can find new homes, you've given new homes to them (presumably), we've given new homes to them, they were a problem for someone once and spent the rest of their lives as our beloved babies after we adopted them.

peachyprice

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

I'm sorry but I don't understand why you're confined to a room during the day when a dog / the dogs are guarding their food


They must surely be fed once or twice a day, the food / bowls removed and that's it .....


Is it only food aggression?


If so, it must be possible to come to some sort of workable solution (not easy I know but believe me if I can manage to keep 2 cats separated 24/7 and also the dog happy - you do need to think out the box to work through every possible solution)

Can you not feed one in one room - and the other somewhere else?

You'd think.

OP, why can't you feed them separately. Feed one while you walk the other and vice versa?

Tiddlywinks

peachyprice wrote: »

You'd think.

OP, why can't you feed them separately. Feed one while you walk the other and vice versa?

Reading the other threads, I also don't think the dogs are getting nearly enough exercise.

krlyr

ladymarmalade1970 wrote: »

There are are many dog forums where you can get practical advice for free. I have 3 dogs, 2 rescue and 1 from puppy. When we got the last one - an over bred staffie, she nearly ripped the other dogs faces off! OK, a slight exaggeration but she was bad and my OH said she had to go back.

We muzzled her and developed a plan whereby as soon as we saw her lips curl we would pick her up, put her behind the stair gate and praise the other 2 lots.

It took about 3 days of this consistent behaviour for her to realise that we weren't having it and we could safely remove her muzzle. It took about another 2 weeks for them to be ok with her then within 2 months i could safely leave them all home alone together.

She still has issues with other dogs (apart from her brothers who she dearly loves now she trusts them) and we have a behaviourist coming round next week for one final stab to see if we can sort it.

She is only small being a pedigree staff so she is manageable but I imagine yours are a lot bigger.

Can you muzzle the pair of them, watch them closely when they eat and then as soon as one starts, remove them for 5 mins and make a fuss of the other one?

You have to be confident about this and make it clear that it's unacceptable and you won't tolerate it.

I did have to take a week off work but she was well worth it and now we have a lovely family dog who, although still has DA issue, fits into our family perfectly.

We have had our staffie girl 2 and a half years now and she lives happily with her brothers - a rottie and a staffy X and they have NEVER had a fight.

Consistency is the key. That's how they learn.

But free advice is not always the best advice. For the general situation, or for the two dogs in particular.

I would not recommend the advice you've given, for example, for dogs suffering resource guarding. It will not teach them that they don't need to guard - it will teach them that exhibiting signs of their unhappiness with the situation is not good. Without addressing the cause of the resource guarding, you run the risk of teaching them not to show natural body language, which means you won't have a clue at how unhappy the dogs are until they go completely beyond their threshold and it explodes in a big dog fight.

If you are going to use free advice from the internet, I would say choose your sources carefully. There are some great resources put out there by great trainers, but you'll probably find them quite vague and not too specific on the more serious issues. This is because dogs are individuals, causes and triggers can vary from dog to dog and house to house, and in serious cases, getting a behaviourist in to assess and advise is generally much better than following instructions or a video online.

If OP does want some slightly cheaper solutions to a behaviourist, my recommendations would be

Jean Donaldson's book, "Mine!". Jean Donaldson is a trainer who, infact, runs a self-study dog training academy
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mine-Practical-Guide-Resource-Guarding-ebook/dp/B004Q9TCOG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400940858&sr=8-1&keywords=mine+resource+guarding11

The Facebook group "Dog Training Advice and Support". The admins of this group all have a history in dog training, either trainers or behaviourists.

Patricia McConnell's blog on the subject - again Patricia is a behaviourist with quite a history of writing books for behavioural issues
http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/resource-guarding-treatment-and-prevention

Victoria Stilwell has also done some pieces on resource guarding. I would stress the importance of making sure you watch/read her newest advice, as she did previously used to use some outdated methods of training. The below video may or may not be suitable for dogs who already resource guard, but it does help a little (but again, this is where a behaviourist who will come and assess the dogs will make a huge difference)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdB1Rb1kGxE


Also, if not done already, a full and thorough vet check (including blood panels) would be highly recommended. I would want to rule out a medical cause - for example, the dog has issues of bin raiding so I would want to be sure there's no medical condition causing extreme hunger, which could be behind both the raiding and the resource guarding behaviour. Pain could be another trigger - e.g. pain in the back/neck when eating could make a dog very cagey.


I think there are plenty more options here before rehoming. It's whether OP wants to take them, really.

ladymarmalade1970

krlyr wrote: »

But free advice is not always the best advice. For the general situation, or for the two dogs in particular.

I would not recommend the advice you've given, for example, for dogs suffering resource guarding. It will not teach them that they don't need to guard - it will teach them that exhibiting signs of their unhappiness with the situation is not good. Without addressing the cause of the resource guarding, you run the risk of teaching them not to show natural body language, which means you won't have a clue at how unhappy the dogs are until they go completely beyond their threshold and it explodes in a big dog fight.


If you are going to use free advice from the internet, I would say choose your sources carefully. There are some great resources put out there by great trainers, but you'll probably find them quite vague and not too specific on the more serious issues. This is because dogs are individuals, causes and triggers can vary from dog to dog and house to house, and in serious cases, getting a behaviourist in to assess and advise is generally much better than following instructions or a video online.

If OP does want some slightly cheaper solutions to a behaviourist, my recommendations would be

Jean Donaldson's book, "Mine!". Jean Donaldson is a trainer who, infact, runs a self-study dog training academy
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mine-Practical-Guide-Resource-Guarding-ebook/dp/B004Q9TCOG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400940858&sr=8-1&keywords=mine+resource+guarding11

The Facebook group "Dog Training Advice and Support". The admins of this group all have a history in dog training, either trainers or behaviourists.

Patricia McConnell's blog on the subject - again Patricia is a behaviourist with quite a history of writing books for behavioural issues
http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/resource-guarding-treatment-and-prevention

Victoria Stilwell has also done some pieces on resource guarding. I would stress the importance of making sure you watch/read her newest advice, as she did previously used to use some outdated methods of training. The below video may or may not be suitable for dogs who already resource guard, but it does help a little (but again, this is where a behaviourist who will come and assess the dogs will make a huge difference)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdB1Rb1kGxE


Also, if not done already, a full and thorough vet check (including blood panels) would be highly recommended. I would want to rule out a medical cause - for example, the dog has issues of bin raiding so I would want to be sure there's no medical condition causing extreme hunger, which could be behind both the raiding and the resource guarding behaviour. Pain could be another trigger - e.g. pain in the back/neck when eating could make a dog very cagey.


I think there are plenty more options here before rehoming. It's whether OP wants to take them, really.

I agree free advice is not always the best but by the same token no one needs ANY qualifications to set themselves up as a dog trainer or behaviourist etc. I could set myself up tomorrow if i wanted.

I also agree you need to find out the cause of the aggression however given dogs don't speak its a bit hard, especially so with a resuce.

With our girl it was so obvious it was fear so we were lucky in that sense. I also agree with you don't want to suppress their natural body language as this is a warning - such as a growl, however, saying that, by studying the body language you can remove them from the situation, get them calm, and show them that this is not the way to go.

There are some very good and bad dog forums out there and gut instinct should tell you if the advice is good or not.

The key thing to remember is no one knows your dog better than you.

catkins

Beetlemama wrote: »

He bought all the dogs due to be executed at the local shelter each month and found new homes for the ones who could not fit in with his existing pack.

Dogs can find new homes, you've given new homes to them (presumably), we've given new homes to them, they were a problem for someone once and spent the rest of their lives as our beloved babies after we adopted them.

I understand that if your OH were getting dogs from rescue and then rehoming that is different. I just don't think people should get dogs (or any other animal) either from young or as an older rescue and then give up on them unless it is for a very good reason.


Your OH was lucky as well if he managed to find new homes for all the dogs. I know quite a few people involved in dog rescue and all the rescues are struggling to find homes and lots of dogs are having to be pts which is really sad. Quite a few rescues are not taking in any more dogs as they just can't cope.


I have had many rescue dogs and cats over the years and have not given up on any of them even though some of them were very hard work (one cat would attack me and OH, biting and scratching and drawing blood).


Lots of people give up easily - my rescue friends have told me of people having a rescue dog for a really short time and then returning them for no real reason (sometimes it can be after a week, sometimes a couple of nights BUT, sadly, 1 night is not that uncommon!). Just how or why you can decide after having an animal for 1 night that they are not for you I really do not know.


I have a rescue dog at present who, at 11 months, has had 5 homes including me and OH. One home had him for a week, one home had him for 3 days and the last home had him for 1 night literally. He was taken to them at 7pm in the evening and at 6am they were on the phone asking for him to be collected - no reason given

Big_Tree

Does the OP actually walk her dogs?.......from her other posts she seems to just let them out in the garden, this is shockingly inadequate, dogs need to be walked, to explore.....

No such thing as a bad dog, only bad owners........seems like the dogs have no sort of life due to the OP's laziness.

catkins

If most of the problem is over food then the dogs must be fed separately and the bowls picked up after a short time, whether the food has been eaten or not.


I have 2 dogs and although they don't fight over food, one of them (the rescue) will eat all his and then try and steal the other's food. He, being a laid back softie who is not really interested in food, lets the other steal it so they have to be fed in separate rooms. It's not easy as I live in a very small open plan house and the fussy dog causes problems as I have to keep putting him in the kitchen with food throughout the day.

ladymarmalade1970

BigJockKnew wrote: »

Does the OP actually walk her dogs?.......from her other posts she seems to just let them out in the garden, this is shockingly inadequate, dogs need to be walked, to explore.....

No such thing as a bad dog, only bad owners........seems like the dogs have no sort of life due to the OP's laziness.

Harsh! You could have worded that much more nicely.